Meerut shooter wins silver in 8th Int’l junior shotgun cup

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Meerut :

Thirteen-year-old Shapath Bharadwaj has brought laurels to the city by winning a silver medal in the 8 th International Junior Shotgun Cup held at Orimattila in Finland from May 23 to 29.

The youngest participant in the competition, Shapath, scored the highest 128 points among his teammates and ensured a silver medal to India in the double trap event held at Orimatilla on May 25. It was the second international match of the budding shooter in which he succeeded to play in the semifinals after scoring the highest 128 among his teammates.

Earlier, in the first week of May, he participated in the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup held at Suhl in Germany and impressed his coach and well-wishers by obtaining a score of 125 in his first international competition. He was the youngest participant in the World Cup and Junior Shotgun Cup.

Earlier, he was selected in the National Team of Double Trap by giving an outstanding performance in selection trials in which he scored 120 and 135. The trials were held at Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges, New Delhi, wherein he ensured his place in the national team to represent India in international competitions at the age of 14.

An elated Bharadwaj told TOI, “I’m happy for what I’ve achieved for the country but there is still a long way to go.”

Shapath attributed his success to his coach Yogender Pal Singh, who himself is a double trap player of international repute, and all those who supported him throughout his preparations and at the time of need.

“This was all because of my coach and still I have to work hard to bring laurels for my country and people,” said Shapath.

Discussing Shapath’s feat, Yogender said, “Shapath’s showed promise from an early stage and considering his achievement, the boy will go a long way representing India in international events.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Meerut / Sandeep Rai / TNN / May 30th, 2016

NBRI cures, restores Parijat to pure original glory

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Lucknow:

The ancient Parijat tree in Barabanki district is now free of ailments. The treatment administered by the CSIR lab, National Botanical Research Institute, has made the tree healthy again.

On Wednesday, D K Upreti, officiating director, NBRI, handed over the report containing recommendations on how to preseve the generations-old entity to the forest department. Though NBRI had administered chemical treatment to the tree initially, it has now recommended a microbial biopesticide (Bacillus based inoculants) to be applied on the trunk and leaves of the tree thrice in a year to keep it clean of infections. NBRI also gave Bacillus packets to forest department.

“When we visited the site and studied the samples of the tree and soil we found a huge number of bacterial and fungal infections but now it has been treated and cured completely,” said NBRI’s senior principal scientist S K Tiwari.

NBRI, a CSIR laboratory, was brought on board by the forest department to study the condition of the tree after TOI highlighted how it is wilting and is in dire need of conservation. Scientists had collected samples of the tree’s healthy tissue, wood from the affected portion and soil to find the cause. The sample analysis showed the tree was infested with multiple bacteria and fungi.

The tree was put under treatment in February and administered chemical therapy twice. The tree has a small temple at its base and devotees, for years, have been offering water and sweets as prasad there. Right at the spot it had developed a large opening in its trunk.

Though the tree is being looked after by the forest department as less than an acre land on which the tree exists in forest area, the treatment by the department along with regular spraying of disinfectants proved inefficient and insufficient to preserve the tree.

Parijat (Adansonia digitata) is an exotic tree, an African specie with peculiar features. It bears only flowers and no fruits, the reason it is difficult to grow anywhere. Its white flowers turn golden after a certain period. Barabanki’s Parijat is mythically believed to have come out of the ‘samudra manthan’ (churning of ocean) and brought to earth by Arjun from the garden of Indra for his mother Kunti to offer to Lord Shiva and seek victory of Pandavas over Kauravas. A few years ago, the Centre had released two postal stamps on this tree. “Parijat is said to be ‘kalpvrikhsh’ or the wish-fulfilling tree,” said a priest at the site of the tree.

Experts from Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology, Faizabad too studied the cause of the tree’s decay after Barabanki district administration sought help in 2012.

The age of the tree is anybody’s guess. According to forest officers, it’s only when one cuts the trunk of the tree and counts its rings that it can be known how old it is.

Parijat is ‘top-drying’, meaning its branches dry from the top. It sheds leaves in winters and during May-June new leaves sprout, so for six months it is green and rest of the year barren.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / Neha Shukla, TNN / June 02nd, 2016

Zoo vet nominated for ‘Jeevan Raksha Padak 2016’

Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All

Kanpur:

For exemplary courage shown by a Kanpur zoo vet while capturing a leopard in Meerut last month despite being injured, the Kanpur zoo administration has nominated the veterinarian for the ‘Jeevan Raksha Padak 2016’.

The nomination letter has been sent to the Union home ministry by the zoo authorities. The zoo authorities had received a letter from home ministry asking to nominate a person having shown courage, if any. Acting on the letter, the zoo administration nominated zoo vet.

Zoo director Deepak Kumar said that veterinarian RK Singh’s name has been sent for ‘Jeevan Raksha Padak 2016’. Singh had acted courageously at a time when the leopard had attacked him and caused injury in his left hand. Still, he had managed to tranquilise it.

Last month a male leopard weighing around 60 kgs had sneaked into human habitat in Army Cantt in Meerut and created panic for three days. To capture the leopard, which had attacked many people and left them injured, a team of experts led by Singh of Kanpur zoo had been sent. The leopard was hiding behind old furniture in a 200-metre long corridor in an army establishment in Cantt area. Singh had to lay down on the floor to take aim at the leopard. It attacked the vet and injured him. The leopard was brought to Kanpur zoo for treatment.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kanpur / TNN / June 04th, 2016

Bonjour Lucknow as city gets French language center

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, World Opinion

Lucknow :

Learning French will now be easier for citizens. Alliance Francaise, an institution that provides French language education and certification worldwide, has picked Lucknow to open its first centre in Uttar Pradesh in September. This will be their 13th centre in India. In fact, in northern India, it will be the third centre after Delhi and Gurgaon.

Delegate general Jean-Francois Ramon said Lucknow centre will operate from La Martiniere College. “The Francaise will not only promote French language but also provide Indo-French cultural exchange. The institution will also spread awareness of the Francophone cultures,” he added.

The uniqueness of the centre, said La Martiniere principal Carlyle McFarland, is that it will come up in a school (La Martiniere) established by a Frenchman, Claude Martin.

The centre will open to people in the 7 to 77 age group, said Richard Franco , UP coordinator. “We will have trained teachers who would provide high quality teaching of French language and culture. French education will be imparted using mediums like films and songs,” said Richard. The first project to be launched in Lucknow would be learning French through video games, added Richard.

Welcoming the opening of Alliance Francoise, Meeta Ghosh, a French expert in Lucknow, said, “French is not taught in the correct way in Lucknow. Even after completing the advanced level of French course many are unable to speak French,” said Ghosh, adding that the centre will focus on all four skills – listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Interested people can register online.

There will be six levels – A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2, with A1 being the beginners level and C2 making the person proficient in the language. Each level has an average of 60 hours teaching, varying from four hours to eight hours per week, informed Jawahar Lal Sarin, prsident, Alliance Francoise de Delhi. Registered candidates before taking the classes, will have to undergo an online assessment to know whether the level, the person has enrolled is fit to him/her.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / Isha Jain, TNN / June 02nd, 2016

Kanpur zoo discovers new technique to document leopard blood values

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nature, Science & Technology
Representative image.
Representative image.

Kanpur :

In the absence of documented values (such as platelets count, haemoglobin) of the blood of Indian leopards, the diagnosis of diseases in these big cats used to remain a tough task for the veterinarians. But the Kanpur zoo vets have found out the haematological values of blood of the leopard by conducting two tests.

These two tests were performed in October last year and in April this year. The findings might help in the diagnosis of diseases among leopards which are Schedule I animals and highly endangered species. RK Singh, UC Srivastava and Mohammad Nasir and pharmacist Akshay Bajaj of Kanpur zoo have worked to bring out the results of the study.

Senior veterinarian RK Singh said that the study has helped in knowing biological value interval of different haematological parameters. He said that now these values will work as a standard reference. “This study has been done on captive animals but it can work as a standard for the wild. However, a number of leopards should be screened to further establish these parameters,” he added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kanpur / June 01st, 2016

Young UP bureaucrats scripting change, garnering goodwill

Business & Economy, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders

Lucknow : (IANS)

A young ‘collector saheb’ sipping piping hot coffee and munching ‘laiyya-chana’ at a chaupal with wide-eyed villagers, a young woman IAS official cradling infants at an Aanganwadi centre, a district magistrate riding pillion on a motorbike to check open defecation at a Varanasi village.

Dispelling the myth that bureaucrats are only meant for office comforts, a band of young officials in Uttar Pradesh is scripting a new chapter wherein not only are the people being benefited but the state’s tainted bureaucracy is also getting a long due makeover.

Perahaps taking a leaf out of the ‘chai-pe-charcha’ campaign that Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to the hilt for political success in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Gonda district magistrate Ashutosh Niranjan has kicked off a ‘coffee with collector’ wherein he randomly selects a village panchayat, drives in with his officials for a cup of coffee and problems of the village are discussed and settled then and there!

The first edition of the event was held recently in the Paraspur development block at the panchayat of Mijhaura where, over steaming cups of coffee, village head Vipin Kumar Singh, the lekhpal (revenue official) and the panchayat secretary deliberated upon a host of issues ranging from roads to potable water to power supply.

It was also decided that the gram pradhans would very soon host a similar meeting over lunch with the lekhpal, panchayat secretary, beat constable and other grassroot-level workers. “The idea is to strengthen the panchayat system and setttle many issues like land disputes at the grassroot level,” Niranjan told IANS.

Varanasi district magistrate Vijay Karan Anand is setting a similar example wherein many-a-time he hitches a motorbike ride to reach far-flung locations to “catch up with reality”. Only recently, he rode pillion at 5 in the morning to physically check issues like cleanliness, the power situation and sewerage.

He found the situation in neighbourhoods like Dayanagar Malin Basti and Sigra “pathetic” and was quick to order immediate course correction. He has also been visiting villages very early in the morning to dissuade people from open defecation.

“It is amazing to see such officials; it is a reassuring feeling,” said Vivek Singh, who works with a telecom company in Varanasi.

Moradabad district magistrate Zuhair Bin Sageer has done some exemplary developmental work in the villages. Not only did he step out of the confines of his air-conditioned office but was also instrumental in creating a mobile application for monitoring work in what are designated Lohia villages, where affordable housing is being developed for the poor.

Kinjal Singh, the district magistrate of Faizabad, is still remembered for her good work during her previous stint in Lakhimpur Kheri, wherein she not only got special sheds made as dining areas for school children for their mid-day meals but also initiated a process to assimilate the marginalized Tharu tribe into the mainstream.

Pilibhit district magistrate Masoom Ali Asgar has almost cleared the high-profile political constituency of encroachments. He is also credited with beautifying the tiger reserve here.

Suhaas LY, the district magistrate of Azamgarh, the parliamentary constituency of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, has scriped a unique method of beautifying the city, its roundabouts and major roads. Through the PPP model, the young bureaucrat has ensured beautification and lighting up of all the city’s major intersections.

Lucknow district magistrate Raj Shekhar is also creating waves. From ensuring restaurants are freed of child labour to clearing a whopping 1,000 acres of encroached government land, Shekhar is also known for his modest style and easy accessibility.

“We all have been assigned a job by the government and we are just doing it to the best of our abilities,” Shekhar told IANS.

(Mohit Dubey can be contacted at mohit.d@ians.in)
–IANS
md/vm/tb

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / IANS / May 31st, 2016

Lucknow industrialist Manish Goel re-elected as National President of Indian Industries Association

Business & Economy, Leaders

Lucknow (KNN) ;

The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of Indian Industries Association (IIA), an apex body for MSMEs in India, has unanimously elected Manish Goel as its National President for the year 2016-17. Goel has been elected as the President for the second consecutive year in a row.

Lucknow industrialist Manish Goel re-elected as National President of Indian Industries Association
Lucknow industrialist Manish Goel re-elected as National President of Indian Industries Association

Sanjay Kaul, Election Officer & Former President of IIA conducted the election meeting of the 21 CEC members and declared the election results.

Born in March 1965 in Kanpur, Goel is an entrepreneur who is successfully running his venture in the name of Lucknow Surfant Pvt. Ltd (Chemical Industry) and Lucknow Printers and Publishers at Lucknow, U.P.

Apart from running his enterprises successfully, Goel is actively involved in upliftment of MSMEs at national as well as state levels.

He has held several important positions in IIA starting from the Chairman & Divisional Chairman of Lucknow and then Secretary, Vice –President, General Secretary & Senior Vice President at IIA Head Office before taking up as its President.

Goel is a member of National Board of MSMEs operating under Ministry of MSME apart from several National and State level bodies related to MSMEs.

At international level, Goel is the Vice Chairman of Asia Brand Ceremony being held in Beijing, China in September, 2016.

On Election as President, IIA, in his first address Goel highlighted his priorities and said that he will work tirelessly for the promotion and development of MSMEs, expanding IIA Chapters to other States.

He vowed to continue the legacy of all IIA Past Presidents in bringing the name and fame to IIA and serve its members to their satisfaction. (KNN Bureau)

source: http://www.knnindia.co.in / KNN – Knowledge & News Network / Home> MSME> Small / May 31st, 2016